As a child on election day, I remember watching the map on the TV as states turned red or blue. I didn't even really understand what was going on, but I remember feeling the anxiety, the excitement, the despair of defeat, and the thrill of victory. I felt like I was cheering for and getting sucked into a big competition, and I know I wasn't the only one. As adults, we can feel all of that and more on election day. However, with this blog I would like to challenge you to spend more time in prayer than you do cheering or checking the updates.
Here's Why You Should Pray:
We are commanded to pray for our government leaders.
1 Timothy 2:1–2 says, "First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way."
Paul does not take the "holier than thou" approach and refuse to pray for anyone but pastors and Christians. Instead, he urges believers to pray "for kings and all who are in high positions." So whether you are into politics or not, we should pray for our government leaders because we are commanded to. And don't just pray for presidents, but for all who are in high positions in our government.
Through prayer, God can change the world around us.
James 5:16 says "The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working." Prayer is powerful because our God is powerful, and he loves to hear and act upon our prayers. Don't say, "Well I've voted. I guess all I can do now is pray." As if prayer is some whimpy last ditch effort. No! It should be our first instinct because the prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working!
Through prayer, God can change our hearts within us.
Prayer is an act of dependency and trust in God. Obsessively watching the news can lead to anxiety and fear, but prayer can lead to rest and thankfulness. So, take some moments to turn off the TV, to put aside your fear of missing out and the false sense of control that watching the updates can bring, and pray in faith and dependence on God.
Here Are Some Ways You Can Pray:
Pray With the Right Priorities:
Do your prayers demonstrate a greater commitment to your political party than to Christ? Do they show a greater commitment to your earthly kingdom or to your heavenly one? For an excellent evaluation of this topic, please view last week's blog.
Pray With Scripture:
What exactly should we pray for? It is easy for our prayers to miss the big picture or not have the right emphasis. So, praying the words of scripture can help us have the right focus.
Pray for leaders to be appointed and/or to become:
Saved and genuine followers of Christ (1 Tim 2:4)
Godly and dignified (1 Tim 2:2)
Wise and Just (Pr 8:15)
To "punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good." (1 Pt 2:14)
Working so that we can live peaceful, quiet, and godly lives (1 Tim 2:2)
Pray for revival in our nation and the establishment of our churches (Mt 28:18-20)
For the growth of the Kingdom of God before the growth of the Kingdom of the U.S.
Give Thanks! 1 Timothy 2:1 says that we should be praying prayers of thanksgiving for those in high positions. So, whether they are your candidate or not, thank God for the way he is using government leaders for good.
Pray With Perseverance
The danger of my childhood perspective on the election is that I can be tempted to walk away in victory or defeat and leave the whole issue behind. But instead, that should be seen as just the beginning of our prayers. If your candidate gets elected, they need prayer now more than ever! If the other candidate gets elected, are they or their party greater than God? He can work through them just as easily as he can work through anyone else (Pr 21:1). So, continue to pray long after November 5th!
To close I would like to share with you a wonderful example of prayer for our nation from R.C. Sproul:
Our Father and our God, indeed You are our God, and Your sovereignty extends over all things.... over all creation, over every aspect of our life and of our culture, over our government, over our church, over our schools, over our health, over our wealth, over our thinking, our planning, and our crying. And so we, as Your people, are pleading with You to have mercy upon us, to give us leaders who have a regard for You, who will regard Your name as holy, and who will understand that in whatever office they hold, they are to be Your servants, for You have ordained them. And we ask that You would bring new life to Your church and that we may begin our repentance at our own house and in our own churches as we plead with You to have mercy upon us as a nation, as a people, as a culture that the light of Christ may be rekindled with great glory and intense brightness in our land, and that there would be a revival of a knowledge of Thee without which our land will mourn and our people will perish.
And we ask these things in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Amen.
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